


When Friends are Feeling Down

by Ferdi



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 16:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11650386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ferdi/pseuds/Ferdi
Summary: Judy's long time friend, Nick, comes to work one day feeling down. She immediately wants to help him, but things go south quickly as she fumbles her way through tense feelings.





	When Friends are Feeling Down

Judy Hopps, an officer for the Zootopia Police Department. The city's first bunny cop, the hero of the Missing Mammal case. Complete with a sharp fluffy moxie only a bunny could have.

Today, regrettably, she was a desk jockey, not that it bothered her too much. She would have her best friend, Nicholas Piberius Wilde, there to keep her company through the long, and boring work hours.

With a bright smile on her face and a hot mug of coffee in tow, she silently padded into her office. The early morning sunlight filtered through the blinds of the office window, cascading a warmth into the room. The window overlooked the Zootopia skyline. A magnificent view that Judy would never bore of.

Her desk was simple, two drawers rested on both sides, and a roller chair sat neatly tucked in the space between them. She kept her desk neat, with a singular stack of lined paper next to her computer monitor, and an empty in and out box used for incomplete and completed work. Another desk sat nicely against the wall directly behind hers.

Setting her coffee down, she jumped right into her bunny size chair, spinning it in a quick circle, then expertly pushing into her desk. A good start to the day in her books. The office door shut behind her, catching the Buns attention. Nick walked in, his uniform jacket hung over his shoulders, and a steaming hot cup of coffee held in his left paw. With a nod to the bun, he made his way to his desk.

7 A.M. on the dot.

Never late but never early. Judy gave him a smile and was about to initiate her usual cheery morning conversation with her friend, but instead, he just sat down, seemingly ignoring the bunny after his lacklustre greeting. Her words caught in her throat, turning back around to face her computer monitor as her paw dug into her neck scruff in confusion. He's usually instantly chatting or teasing the bunny in some way. The absence of such actions having somewhat stunned Judy.

30 minutes passed and still no fox shenanigans. She needed a plan. Her eyes roamed her desk, searching for the answer to solving her fox problem. Spotting her stack of paper on her desk, a devious smile erupted onto her features as a brilliant idea formed. With a pen in paw, she hastily scribbled down a note for the Fox. Enthusiasm urging her onward as she folded the note into a neat little paper airplane. Taking careful aim, she tossed it towards the fox.

Her ever so deviant smile still etched upon her face as the paper plane flew lazily towards its target. The sharp front-end of the plane poked the unsuspecting fox, causing him to jump slightly in his chair. His pencil dropped to the floor, it was covered in bite marks, almost to point of easily snapping in two. The Fox sighed and shivered slightly as he bent over to pick up the now crash-landed plane and the victimised pencil. He gently unfolded the plane, reading the contents as he sat back down in his chair.

"Hey Slick! What's up?"

He rolled his eyes, taking a look back towards his bunny companion. Her smile hadn't ceased as she quickly waved to him as she spun once in her office chair. Having seen his disinterested face, she slumps down in defeat. Staring at her computer as if to find inspiration there. Suddenly a sharp point poked her in the back, she instantly straightened up, spinning her chair once more to find a paper airplane behind her. She picked it up, unfolding it with excitement.

"I know bunnies are fast and all, but I doubt you're done with your paperwork."

She stared at the paper for a moment before turning to see her friend with a small half hearted smile escape his features. He pointed to a big stack of papers on his desk, prompting her to concentrate on work once more. She lifted an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that her sly fox friend would pass up a chance to skip paperwork. It was official. There was definitely something odd going on with Nick, and she aimed to find out.

She frantically searched her desk for more ways to gain Nick's attentions. Her search proved rather fruitless, the only thing she had at her disposal was her coffee mug and her big stack of paper. She thought about baiting the Fox over with some of her coffee. She hadn't finished hers yet and thought it might be a good way to get the fox to mess around a bit. She looked back over her shoulder, spying on the Fox once more only to spot him taking a sip of his own coffee. She instantly deflated, smacking her head against her desk in defeat. After a few moments of self-pity, she sat back up, pushing both her paws against her cheeks. Her paws disappeared momentarily under her soft neck scruff as she sighed loudly. She was getting bored and her only entertainment option was holding back.

devious shenanigans swirled within her dangerously evil bunny mind. Ideas! She needed ideas! She found herself caught in a daydream. A large battlefield spread out before her, explosions and bullets flew overhead. All around her little bunnies were dressed in military gear, face paint, boots, camouflage, and weapons. Curiously, all the bunnies were just other versions of her, all huddled in long and deep trenches. In the distance, she could see a monstrously large fox, lumbering towards their trenches.

Nick.

He roared once, baring his sharp fangs. All the little Judy's roared back, not fearing their large fox adversary. Behind the real Judy, a version of her all dressed in important looking officer clothing yelled out commands, urging the Judy's to fight with courage.

"He's just a dumb fox! Fight hard! Load the paper artillery! On my mark!"

The dumb fox roared again.

"Fire!"

She snapped back into reality as her balled up piece of paper flew towards her target. The dumb fox wouldn't know what hit him.

Time slowed down as the paper bomb fell towards the fox. She bit her lip, her eyes widening in anticipation. The suspense was killing her.

The paper hit its mark, bouncing off the top of the fox's noggin harmlessly. Pretty anti-climatic. Nick's ears twitched in annoyance, his face painting the perfect picture of bunny assault. Though he did not take a glance back.

Oh no! Reload! Reload! The beast isn't phased! All is lost!

She though dramatically to herself as she balled up more paper. With her neat pile of white fox distraction finished, she quickly typed up a message on her computer. It read.

"Hi, Nick!"

Simple yet effective. She was bunny assault was back in full motion, her paper balls in her fluffy paws. Taking careful aim, she tossed as many as she could. A seemingly endless barrage, each one bouncing harmlessly off the Fox.

We have a confirmed hit!

Nick seemed to grow a little angrier with each hit. Perhaps the bunny assault was too much for the Fox. He pushed away from his desk, slowly spinning in his chair. He found his beloved bunny companion sitting slightly away from her computer, a bright smile on her face.

He couldn't help but give a small smile back. His eyes found her note, giving it a quick read before turning around to write his own.

Judy had a hopeful look about her, had she finally gotten through to the fox? Excitement built within her as he types away at his keyboard. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he turned around, allowing for the bun to read his reply.

"I'm busy, fluff, maybe later."

His small smile had left him, he now looked at her rather blandly, uninterested, and slightly upset. Her actions were not amusing the fox. He turned away, leaving the bunny to feel confused and defeated once more. Her ears flopped over her face. the fox was being stubborn, she just wanted her best friend back, and out of his apparent slump. Was that too much to ask?

Eventually, after much internal debate, she decided to go back to work. Filling out forms and the like with her "infamous" carrot pen. She silently munched on the pen, deep in thought about her fox friend.

Dumb, stubborn fox, being all moody...

Her excessive bunny bites accidentally pressed the play button on her pen, allowing for an older message to play. She quickly turned it off, another brilliant bunny shenanigan forming in her mind. She pushed away from her desk, hurrying over to the co-ed bathroom in their office. She had a hop in her step, overly enthused about her new plan. She shut and locked the door behind her, quickly erasing the old message on her carrot pen. Oh, the words she had for that dumb fox. she hastily poured her thoughts and feelings into a message for Nick. She almost said the whole thing in one breath.

Satisfied with her work, she flushed the toilet, not wanting to cause any suspicion towards her. She opened the door, slowly pushing her fluffy bunny head out, spying the fox who still looked quite distant and uninterested. She was in the clear. She hurried back to her desk, hopping up on her wheely chair, spinning in one tight circle, expertly tossing her pen at the Fox, then stopping herself to face her computer once more.

*Thunk!*

The pen struck the back of the Fox, his eyes widening momentarily as the pen fell to the ground. He spun around lazily, picking up the all too familiar carrot recorder.

Resting his head against his paw, he played the message.

"Hey, Nick! It's usually you that bugs me! It's been quite the adventure switching roles. I know you're probably gonna skip this, but hear me ou-"

*Click*

"Wow! That was a mouthful! I want you to know I meant every word! I just-"

*Click*

"You know what? You've probably skipped all this, huh? Well I-"

*Click*

Nick rolled his eyes, tossing the pen onto his desk. He rubbed his cheeks as he looked over his shoulder. Judy was face down on her desk, her ears flopped over, laying flat on her keyboard.

He turned, pawing lazily at his keyboard. Typing up a quick email for the bunny.

*Ding!*

Judy's ears shot right up, her head followed soon after. Her paw went straight to her mouse, clicking as fast as she could. The response she was waiting for had arrived! But before she could open the email, paranoia and guilt washed over her. Thoughts of what could be contained within the mail stayed her paw. What if she was the cause of his grumpiness? What if he did something illegal?

She gulped audibly, covering her eyes with a paw as she clicked open the email. She took a deep breath before slowly opening up her fluffy digits. It read.

NicholasPWilde

Carrots,

Let me work. Not in the mood today.

With a sigh of relief she looked back over her shoulder, the Fox was working harder than she had ever seen him work before.

"Stubborn fox."

She said quietly to herself, already forming a reply in her head. Seriousness aside, she decided a little bit of humour would do the fox some good. Picking up one of her blank pieces of paper, she wrote out another message for the Fox. It read "Dumb Fox" with an arrow pointing up at the top right corner. With a sly bunny smile, she turned on her web-cam, snapping a quick picture of herself holding the note up with the arrow pointing directly at Nick. Her face was pure comical mischief, her tongue pushed from her lips as she looked away, feigning innocence. She thought the fox would get a good kick out of the picture. He was obsessed with them after all.

Typing furiously fast, at speeds no bunny has been to before, she finished the message to go with it. With a smug grin and her paws tucked triumphantly against her hips, she gave a nod of satisfaction. She hit "send" and waited.

Nick pushed his paws against his fluffy fox cheeks, sighing in contempt as an email notification flashed on his screen. He reluctantly opened it.

Re: Carrots

"Talk to me. What's eatin ya, Mr Grumps?"

Nick ignored the picture, finding no amusement in Judy's efforts. Instead, he replied flatly.

A moment later, Judy's computer gave off the all too familiar ding sound. She perked up, quickly opening the new email.

Re: Re: Carrots

Judy,

Really let's talk about this later.

"Oh, so now you use my name? Stubborn fox."

She decided that she had to take drastic measures. With pen in paw, she took another piece of her paper. She would have to go to places no bunny dared to go. She thought it wouldn't come to this, but it's her last resort. If this didn't crack the Fox, nothing would.

The fart realm.

She dramatically drew a cloud on the paper, with the words "Toot!" written on it. She stifled a giggle as she posed for a new picture, her face a devious grin. Her two paws held the papers, the toot held just under the fox's tail and the dumb fox pointing at Nick once more. She took the picture, satisfied, she wrote out the message for her friend.

"Hey! You said my name! Really though, you're not gonna feel better until you talk to me."

She hit send and waited. Every moment that passed seemed to deflate the bunny. She slowly lost her smile and began to slump in her chair.

"He'll come around."

She said with a loud sigh. Her ears flopped about restlessly, and her nose twitched. After what seemed Like an eternity, a message popped up on the screen.

"Your message has failed to send. The recipient has blocked your address."

...

ANGRY BUNNY NOISES

Nick had made a fatal mistake. An angry bunny is not something to take lightly, you can't just brush something as cute as the bun off and sweep it right under the rug. Bunnies require the attention they demand and deserve. Judy was back on the offensive, muttering to herself as she wrote another note.

Darn Fox, being all grumpy, blocking me like I'm some sort of nuisance... He's the one being all weird!

She crumpled up her note, spinning on her chair to face the fox. Taking aim, she tossed the note, scoring a perfect head shot, right between his ears. She sat there looking at him, her arms crossed and with the most powerful frown a bunny could muster.

Nick dropped his pencil, his face a look of annoyance. He spun on his chair, meeting the foul gaze of his companion. He gave one right back. Her ears pressed against her fluffy head, and her nose twitched angrily. She snorted at him, so unbunny like, as she pointed down to the paper. Judy's watchful gaze followed his every move as he picked up the ball of paper. He uncrumpled it, reading the contents within. His eyebrow lifted as he poked his eyes over the page to look at Judy. He shrugged, ripping it up right in front of her, throwing them up into the air like a handful of confetti.

"Poof!"

He said sarcastically as he spun around to face his workstation once more. His arms were crossed, and his tail twitched angrily. The bunny was steaming, her face a pink shade of anger, and her paw thumped rapidly against the ground. He paws clenched tightly as she spun back around.

"Ooohhh that damn fox!"

She ripped her cell phone out of her pocket, pawing through her contact list. She pressed rather aggressively on the smug looking face of Nick. She whipped back over to face Nick as his phone rang, her phone held up to her ear, and her paw thumped ceaselessly against the carpeted floor. Nick casually glanced down at his cell phone, then chanced a gander at the bunny. Her vexing demeanour left the Fox unaffected. He took out his phone, lifting it high above his shoulders as he spun back around to face his computer. Letting it ring a few more times before turning it off in full view of Judy. He dropped it, letting it bounce along the ground as he lifted his other paw. His middle finger fully extended, flipping Judy off rather nonchalantly.

Judy was visibly taken aback by the fox's crude gesture. He had never been so outright mean towards her before. Surprised at the Fox, anger began to well up inside her, eventually spilling over as she picked up her bunny sized stapler, throwing it aggressively at the fox's turned back.

*Thump!*

He gave off a short surprised yelp, standing quickly, kicking his chair away from him. Turning around to face Judy, who took cover behind her chair, her purple bunny eyes poking over the sides gingerly. He was pissed, it was the final straw for the Fox. He pushed his chair away, making a beeline for the coat hanger. He flung his coat over his shoulder, storming towards the door.

Judy's anger melted away, replaced by concern, realising she may have hurt her friend.

"Nick! Wait! I didn't... I.. I'm sorry.."

Her last words were barely above a whisper as the Fox left the room. She hastily followed the fox, taking care to keep her distance. She found herself outside chief Bogo's office, watching Nick angrily storm inside and slam the door shut.

Tears began to well up around her eyes and her little bunny nose twitched. She sniffed and wiped away her tears, as she began to silently pad back towards her office. She slumped back down into her chair, watching the clock tick the seconds away. Each one got progressively louder, pounding into Judy's mind. Paranoia began to eat away at her, each second that passed tore a larger hole within her heart.

Tick... Tick... Tick…

Beads of sweat rolled down her grey forehead. Her ears flopped uneasily, and her footpaws bounced uncontrollably. She hasn't ever gotten in any sort of trouble like this before. Unpleasant thoughts roamed her mind, making the five minutes that had gone past feel like an eternity.

Bogo's door finally creaked open, snapping the bunny out of her stupor. She hopped up, swiftly making her way towards the office doorway. Nick walked past the door just as she pushed her head through.

"Nick! I didn't mean to..."

He paid her no mind, walking past her and the office. She stood there, her words caught in her throat as she watched him leave.

"Hopps! My office, now."

She turned to see Bogo standing in his doorway. She gave him a look, not even bothering to wipe away her tears. He walked sullenly into his office, prompting a sigh from Bogo. He softened up, he couldn't help it. He knew the relationship between the two partners was special. She was hurting perhaps as much as Nick was.

Judy plopped herself down in front of Bogo's desk. Using her ears to wipe away her tears. Closing the door with a loud sigh, Bogo made his say to his own seat.

"I've sent oOfficerWilde home for the day. He needs time to recuperate. He'll be alright, just give him space."

"Do you know what's upset him?"

"That's confidential, he'll tell you when he's ready."

She nodded and stood up, she regained her composure, straightening her uniform before speaking again.

"Did you lose weight?"

Bogo snorted.

"Nice try Hopps. You're dismissed, I still expect those reports by shift's end."

Skipping the formalities, she exited the room, gently closing the door behind her. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, exhaling as she opened her eyes.

"Suck it up, Hopps."

She said quietly to herself as she made her way back to her office.

The rest of the day went by slowly and uneventfully. Her workload doubled when Nick left, she only had herself to blame for that. A few extra hours at the station was just what she needed to formulate an apology for Nick.

With the day's work finished, and her plan complete in her mind, she made her way straight to Nick's apartment.

She knocked several times and waited.. and waited.

"Nick? I know you're in there."

The Fox lay on his couch, cocooned in a large blanket, his head covered completely. Upon hearing Judy at his door. He grunted, pushing his head through the top of his blanket. Resting his chin on one of his pillows, he watches the door listening to Judy grovel. He had a frown etched upon his face, and his tail twitched under the blanket.

"Look. Nick, I know you're going through a tough time right now.."

Her ears were starting to droop again, lowering slowly with every word.

"It's just. I want to be there for you! A-and I can do that without knowing what's wrong.."

Her ears were flat out against her back now, her voice became choppy and her paws cupped together over her heart, as she choked back tears. Nick sighed, pushing himself out of his blanket, kicking them to the floor as he made his way to the door.

"I know what I did was childish, and selfish. B-but.."

Her words faltered as tears began to well up in her eyes. Her paw wiped across her eyes, sniffing sadly as she tried to continue.

"But if you could just-"

The door slowly opened, revealing a rather under dressed fox. Her paw moved away from her face, her little bunny nose twitching as her gaze met his.

"..Talk to me?"

Her attention was stolen by a rather curious sight. Her eyes drifted down his half naked body, resting squarely on his boxers. Her face brightened a little as she stifled a giggle. The boxers were white with bright orange carrots dotting the entire fabric.

"..So, you coming in? Or are you just gonna silently judge my boxers?"

Wiping the last of her tears away, she brushed past Nick, making her way inside his lair. Nick shut the door behind her, rubbing his face in indignation.

"Do you want a coffee? Maybe some carrot juice?"

"Looks like your underwear took all the carrots."

"Ha Ha, very funny. If you don't want anything, you can just make yourself comfortable."

Judy plopped herself down in the middle of Nick's former blanket taco. She sat near the edge, her footpaws pressed together, and her forepaws held them. She rocked nervously back and forth, her ears sunk down to her back as Nick sat beside her. Her gaze didn't meet his, she wasn't sure how to start. After several long, and awkward moments, Nick spoke up.

"So…"

The Bunny sighed, pressing her forepaws together, squeezing them tightly together, trying to work up the courage to begin.

"So.. I just wanted to start by saying sorry for throwing that stapler at you. I could have hurt you.."

She sniffed, trying to hold back tears, but to no avail. Her nose twitched as tears began to stream down her fluffy cheeks. She looked up, catching Nick's gaze.

"Are... Are you still mad at me?"

Nick grabbed a tissue out of a nearby box, bringing it slowly to Judy's sullen face. He wiped her tears away, ever so gently. His demeanour softened, his face a look of concern and understanding for his bunny friend.

"Oh come now, fluff. You couldn't hurt me with a tiny little bunny stapler."

"So.. you're not mad at me?"

She asked with hope evident in her voice. He looked away, spacing out for a moment before responding.

"I am."

Judy looked away, grabbing her ear tightly in one paw. She held it close to her face, trying to hide from her friend.

"But… I am willing to work things out."

She let go of her ear, allowing for it to flop back down against her back. Nick gave her a smile, his face returning to the normal shifty and smug look any good Fox ought to have. He rested his paws behind his head, lazily spreading out into the couch cushions.

"What would you like to talk about, Carrots?"

Her fox seemed to be back to his normal cocky self. She gave him a smug grin, leaning in closer, her paws pressed against her middle.

"You don't think we could talk about what's bugging you?"

Nick's smile disappeared, he looked away, closing his eyes and took a deep breath. His features had returned to being downcast and sombre. After a moment his smile slowly crept back.

"Heh, not really. It'll pass, fluff."

"Well, we could talk about something else!" She quickly added.

"Like how sensitive you can be."

She said teasingly, leaning closer to him, a sarcastic smirk plastered on her face. He retaliated with a grin of his own, bringing a paw to his heart in mock injury.

"That wounds me, Carrots. I'll have you know that I keep a close and loving relationship with my sensitive side."

His paw moved from his chest and up to his forehead. He closed his eyes and leant dangerously close to the bunny.

"Ohhhh, woe is me!"

He flopped down playfully onto Judy's lap, pinning her against the couch. His paw found itself resting between her floppy ears.

"Hey! Get off of me! You're too fat, you dumb fox!"

Nick's claws affectionately scratched her soft head scruff, prompting her to lose her prior complaints. He lay there, eyes closed and unmoving. Feigning death no doubt.

"I have the curse of an annoyingly cute, fluffy, scruffy, puffy, and adorable bunny!"

She nuzzled into his paw, happiness surging back into her.

"You're on thin ice, you sly fox."

"Hey! That's offensive!"

"You started it!"

Judy wiggled out from under Nick, pushing her strong foot paw against his fluffy cheeks playfully.

"Ahhh! AR! AR! Police Brutality!"

She giggled madly as the Fox squirmed under her, teetering dangerously over the edge of the sofa.

"J-Judy! We're gonna- ahh!"

Nick fell over the edge, dragging a very surprised bunny down with him. Nick landed on his stomach, his chin flat against the ground and a smile painted his face. The bunny landed on top of him, her chin resting against his shoulder.

"Dumb Fox."

"Sly Bunny"

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boy, what a ride. Please leave your thoughts as reviews, this was my first zootopia story and I would love to know what you thought of it.
> 
> Some of the text needed to be bolded but I can't figure it out yet
> 
> Original Story idea by ahappypichu. Written and expanded by me, while working directly with ahappypichu.


End file.
